Celje vs Lugano prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2025-03-05 20:00.
[p]Celje could be excused for feeling a little overwhelmed after winning just one of their first four matches (D1, L2) in their UEFA Conference League (UEL) main draw debut, but they have since grown in the competition. They’re also well versed in two-legged ties, having made multiple unsuccessful attempts to qualify for all three UEFA competitions in recent years, and those experiences may have been key in helping dump Cypriot club APOEL out of the Conference League with a 2-0 away win last matchday (4-2 agg.).[/p]
[p]That ended a six-game losing streak in away continental football and should therefore be an enormous confidence boost as they return home to meet Swiss opposition for the first time in more than 20 years. The Slovenian side scored in each of their last ten UEFA home matches and did enough defensively to avoid defeat on every occasion (W6, D4). While that should inspire confidence, just three wins from their last eight competitive games offers a note of caution, particularly after the weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Olimpija.[/p]
[p]Lugano are strong favourites to advance to the quarter-finals having finished six points and 15 places ahead of Celje in the league phase table with four victories from their six matches (D1, L1). Perhaps they dodged a bullet when not being drawn against Pafos, one of the two sides that took points from them in the league phase, whilst some sketchy domestic form brings their credentials into question.[/p]
[p]Since a 2-1 win at Legia Warsaw to complete a W2, L1 record in their three Conference League away fixtures, Lugano have lost three competitive away matches on the trot. Not only were they dumped out of the Swiss Cup by third-tier FC Biel-Bienne, but they were only narrow outsiders when relinquishing a 1-0 lead to lose a Super League game away to St. Gallen. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Lithuanian striker Armandas Kučys delivered seven of Celje’s 21 Conference League goals this season (including qualifiers), six of them on home soil. Four of Mohamed Belhadj’s nine goals this season came in various UEFA competitions, though Lugano didn’t win any of those matches![/p]
[p]Hot stat: Six of Lugano’s last eight continental matches produced over 2.5 total goals.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]